AIBU to be a bit cross about the Playmobil Nativity set?

[Clawdy]

Have just bought it,and really like it,sure DCs will too. But surely it should include the Three Kings? Apparently they have to be bought separately! Just not on.

FairPhyllis sorry but that doesn't quite stack up. If Joseph & Mary were originally from Bethlehem then why did they have to stay at an inn/stable?

We have a Playmobil nativity set and it does include the three wise men. However, we bought it several years ago, so perhaps Playmobil are being cheapskates?

The way I would read that is that they were originally from Bethlehem,

Then why did they need to stay in an inn? If they lived in Bethlehem they could have just gone home.

You learn something new everyday!

I knew i should have gone with Playmobil, our lego one so far has produced a baddie, a policeman with handcuffs, a snow ball launcher (at least i think that is what it is- snow'balls' are actually cylindrical) and 2 sides to the police station, complete with bars on the window!

Hmmmm, how is this in any way related to christmas???

Love this thread.

My dd1 is being very pedantic and keeps on confiscating the playmobil baby Jesus because he is not born yet

They had to go to Bethlehem for the census, Joseph was orginally from Bethlehem.

I'm originally from Devon but if I had to return there for a census, I'd have to stay in a hotel.

Makes sense to me.

Clawdy No the nativity set stays up until Candlemas (2nd February) which celebrates the Presentation of Jesus in the temple 40 days after the birth. This fits with the church calendar though not necessarily with the biblical accounts - if you can put them into a strictly chronological order.

We have both sets, but it's annoying that they are sold separately. The main set represents the story as Luke told it (although he didn't mention oxen or donkeys), and the supplementary set is Matthew's bit about the Magi.
The problem with Bethlehem was that, although Joseph had family connections there, no-one would put them up. The word we translate as "inn" is 'katalumen' which means 'guest room' which is the same word used for the "Upper Room" that Jesus uses for the Last Supper: it's the only two uses of that word in the gospels. They were not given room at his relatives' homes essentially, probably because of the dubious situation concerning Mary's pregnancy. This was shown well in the Tony Jordan Nativity that was on the BBC last year.

The Magi arrived at their home in Nazareth once they were back in their home-town after the flight to Egypt.

What an interesting thread! And I'm pleased to see that other children are as pedantic as we used to be about everyone arriving at the stable at the right time. Our Magi travelled around the house to arrive on the Ephiphany, and we moved them to a different location every night. Because we were little pedants, we agreed that they were the Magi from two years before, now arriving.

Speaking of little Biblical pedants, was anyone else always outraged as a child about Jesus running off to the temple without telling his parents where he was going?

I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, but historical evidence shows us that there was never any census at around that time that required people to visit their home town to register. I mean, think about it: what a daft way to carry out a census.

I know this is twelve years later but what a lovely thread this was.

Thank you for resurrecting this thread @ScrollingLeaves ! Can't believe it was 12 years ago. Were you on it (under a different name)? I was under a seasonal name change (SnowMuchToBits). I still get our Playmobil nativity out every year, even though ds is now 23...

I did add the Three Kings to the collection (I started the thread, years ago!) Still only one camel though! 😀

We also still have just the one camel! Although an awful lot more Playmobil than we had then. Ds finally outgrew it as a teenager, but I use it to make scenes myself now!

No I was never on the thread but just came across it by sure chance. I think it was magical!

I especially loved the appeal to someone mathematical to work out how many playmobil king footsteps to a human footstep in order to work out how long it would take them to travel like the human kings!

Aw I was on this thread. My DD is at college now!

We still have the nativity scene, but my youngest isn't really into playmobil, so it's rather unloved and I don't think we even set it up last year. Maybe this year for old times sake...